Best price/quality ratio...AGAIN

Best price/quality ratio...AGAIN

Not bargain malts, not best at any price, but recent topics have me wanting a general idea of the opinions of our forum members on their favorite single malt that was their best value. I can say I liked this or that because it was cheap or that this other malt was sublime and I paid dearly, but where does the balance fall between the two for you? Discussions lately brought me to the conclusion that a Glenfarclas 25yo is the best price/quality I can buy. $100 a bottle is not cheap in my world, but affordable for what I get. Another example would be Laphroaig 10 C/S @ $50. What say you?

For me it is some of hte Basic distillery offerings. The following provide super value for the price. Look down your nose at bog standard distillery offerings at your peril from some of the top distilleries. Laphroaig QC is a cracking example. HP 12yo & Talisker 10yo are others as well as some of the IB's as stated prviously. Greenspot (if you can get it) Jameson 12yo & Redbreast 12yo are Irish verions of good value but quality drams.

Some of the small batch cask strength offerings from Buffalo Trace like Geo T Stagg or William L Weller are amazing value if you can get them at US retail prices.

As already mentionned the Laph. CS and QC are great deals.... Also the Balvenie 15 is a good deal since it really is a single cask malt at cask strength. Looking at it that way, its a relative bargain -- though as the prices have been going up at the Balvenie this might not last for ever ....
And I suppose that's the rub; any malt that becomes very successfull will go up in prices rather dramatically. Of course theres the Macallan example, but I think Ardbeg's have been priced very highly these days (and that's a turn off for some). b
But also check out Highland Park a hiterto affordable malt whose masters are doing the old switcharoo trick did the Macallan did 10 years ago with its prices.... THe HP 12 will increase in price; a new 15 will cost the price of the 18; the 18 will cost the price of the 25 and the 25....will be almost double
A classic example of this is the "classic malts" lineup, with the most popular one, the Lagavullin, clocking in at $80 a bottle here in NC, USA, while an equally good -- if not better -- but less popular, Talisker is at $54.
So guys, beware which malts you herald as bargains over the net, you might in fact be paving the way for a price increase of your favorite "bang for your buck" dram!

...and I for one have long reckoned the Ardbeg 10 to be my favourite "bang-for -your buck" malt! especially at christmas. I recently paid £45 for TWO LITRES of A10 coming thru' London airport duty free...that's @$90!!

I reckon if A10 was a rare bottling, it could command a far higher price and everyone would rave about it. . For me it holds its own against the new "Beast" at twice the price...

A standard 70cl bottle costs around £21 at christmas time...£26 at other times. Agree also that Lap. QC nad CS are very good value.

Oliver wrote:But also check out Highland Park a hiterto affordable malt whose masters are doing the old switcharoo trick did the Macallan did 10 years ago with its prices.... THe HP 12 will increase in price; a new 15 will cost the price of the 18; the 18 will cost the price of the 25 and the 25....will be almost double

Is this true? I'm looking at the new bottlings on Royal Mile (which haven't arrived at any of my liquor stores) and the prices seem to be comparable. The 18yo increased, but not drastically. When it comes to really good whisky I'm not going to quibble over a $10 increase.

the HP 15yo has been about for a few years, it was only ever on sale in one supermarket chain in the uk though, HP will be increasing their prices, they started last year by shoving the price of their 18yo up 25%.
its the old senario where by at currect prices demand is outstripping supply.

Oliver wrote:But also check out Highland Park a hiterto affordable malt whose masters are doing the old switcharoo trick did the Macallan did 10 years ago with its prices.... THe HP 12 will increase in price; a new 15 will cost the price of the 18; the 18 will cost the price of the 25 and the 25....will be almost double

Is this true? I'm looking at the new bottlings on Royal Mile (which haven't arrived at any of my liquor stores) and the prices seem to be comparable. The 18yo increased, but not drastically. When it comes to really good whisky I'm not going to quibble over a $10 increase.

Its a slow process, but I believe that what I described is basically the end result. By introducing a 15 year old, the whole price structure is changed; and it allows for more drastic increases.... It certainly happened with the Macallan: the 18 was at about $50 in the early 2000's and then then 15 took over that price point for a while; now the 12 is almost a $50!!

I'd have to agree with Irishwhiskychaser, I think the Redbreast 12 is one of the best deals out there. Amazing whiskey for the price. Ardberg 10 is another fantastic one, and at 35.00 US you cannot go wrong. Generally though, I've found that depending on where you're at(ie-state you live in) The prices vary quite a bit. I was able to pick up a Lagavulin 16 for 64.00 in WVa recently, so that rates up there as great bang for my buck.

Yes, Yes, Yes: Ardbeg 10, Laphroaig QC + 10yo C/S! All are wonderful and wonderfully affordable whiskies. If I had to choose one I would pick Ardbeg 10. The Lagavulin 12yo at 53.00 euros was one of the best price/quality ratios I have experienced as of late. This price was his retail price! Unfortunately, he sold out rather quickly.

Up until recently I would say hands down the Laphroaig 10yo Cask Strength. I can get it locally for $60.80 (that includes tax).

I just got back from a trip to Nashville where I found some Ardbeg Uigeadail for $48.99. With tax it was $53.52. Now, this is a newer Uigeadail release and does not have the flip top. I have heard these newer releases are not as good as the earlier versions (the one I loved deeply and paid $85 for).

So I will have to sit down and do a taste test between the Laphroaig 10yo cs and the Uigeadail to see which scores higher and how much difference $7.28 makes.

Aberlour 10, Aberlour 12 and Aberlour a'bunadh for starters, all well priced in this market. From the Islays Laphroaig 10 is a great value and the Murray McDavid offerings from Glen Spey, Glendullan, Tobermory, Ben Nevis etc are rarely seen in this part of the world so you can have an unusual and well priced malt with a non standard finish. They have a lot going for them/

Re: Best value...

Muskrat Portage wrote:I may stand to be corrected by Frodo, (who has access to a much larger LCBO inventory than I),but the best value for money in Ontario is Longmorn 15 yo @ $53.95 Can.Muskrat

Well, I'm thinking of posting a list of whiskies available at the LCBO and slotting them into my Frodometer to give a rating. However until I do this (and I'm not sure I can get a translater working), I'll go with Redbreast 12 or Laphraoig QC as head and shoulders above anything else at the LCBO for me. Tip 'o the cap to Jameson 12. And I do like Longmorn 15 although it did have to grow on me a bit...

I hesitate to suggest that my own Frodometer is anywhere near as refined as the one true meter in Canada but here goes ...

Ardbeg 10 - a seriously complex package and excellent value if you can get it for about £20
Laphroiag Quarter Cask - equally good value at a couple of pounds more than Ardbeg
Aberlour 10 - Often available for about £17 which makes it a superb poor man's Macallan
Glenlivet 18 - Available for less than £30 and behaves exactly like a whisky of that age should - smooth, refined and subtle. Great value.
Glenmorangie 15 - Again less than £30 and behaves like it is in its twenties. I think you might have to spend 50% more to get anything as good.

Frodo wrote:I'm crying. All of those whiskies at the LCBO are at least twice what you paid...Mr. TH said: Privatize, Frodo.

Mr. TH,
You certainly have nailed a contentious point for those whisky-loving enthusiasts living in Ontario! The only privatize shop I see in the near future will be out of someone's basement with the secret handshake et al. To answer the question, Redbreast 12 is the best deal (price wise and quality) for me at the LCBO.
Cheers,
Wendy

I have to go with Ardbeg 10 right now, I can spesial order it for $38.60 with tax for a 750ML bottle. Not a bad price for a great whisky. I will also add the 4 bottles of Lagavulin I just got for $47.50 at a store in Oklahoma, it looks like that state hasn't realized there is a price increase yet.

lbacha wrote:I have to go with Ardbeg 10 right now, I can spesial order it for $38.60 with tax for a 750ML bottle. Not a bad price for a great whisky. I will also add the 4 bottles of Lagavulin I just got for $47.50 at a store in Oklahoma, it looks like that state hasn't realized there is a price increase yet.

Len

I'm going to quote my own post but I had to I just found Lagavulin for $42.75 a bottle in Oklahoma, They showed me the pricelist for 2 of the their distributors and they both have it that low, This really makes me wonder who is raising the prices.

That is peculiar, Len. It's gone up much more than that about everywhere else. Makes me wonder whether there have been a few palletloads of Lag 16 hiding in a warehouse somewhere in Oklahoma for four or five years. Check the codes....

I, on the other hand, had my sister get 2 x 1 litre bottles of Ardbeg for £45 when she came thru' Heathrow duty free at Xmas, from US!

...but I know the feeling. Last October I passed up a litre of Laphroaig QC at Brisbane DF for way under £30. I'm a bit challenged mathematically, and the sums didn't add up 'til I sat in the plane. Too late! Boy, that was a rough ride!

Meanwhile, Glenmorangie 10 is always reasonable, as is Glen Moray...and you shpuldn't have to spend more than £27 on an Ardbeg 10. I have an Ardbeg stock up at christmas when it's 20 ish quid!

MrTattieHeid wrote:That is peculiar, Len. It's gone up much more than that about everywhere else. Makes me wonder whether there have been a few palletloads of Lag 16 hiding in a warehouse somewhere in Oklahoma for four or five years. Check the codes....

Len,
You may already know this, but in case not: The codes are most likely printed on the bottle above the rear label. If they are much older bottles they might be located on the back of the front lower label, you'll need to use a flashlight to look through the bottle to read it. If you can't decipher the year from the code, I might be able to help.